Should Have Said No
by ThnksFrThMmrs87
Summary: Sorry just doesn't cut it when you could have just said no
1. Chapter 1

Note From The Author—Yes this subject has been done to death in the past month or so, but when inspiration strikes it strikes. I love the song that inspired this and the whole idea centers around something my mom and I frequently discuss. Enjoy.

Disclaimer—I don't own the characters of CSI:NY, nor do I own the song the title comes from which belongs to Taylor Swift.

When the knock on her door sounded through the apartment Lindsay knew it was him. Her home phone had been ringing off the hook and her cell had been exploding with text messages ever since she'd walked away from him three days before. When he'd finally gotten the balls to tell her he'd slept with another woman she hadn't been able to find the words for the hurt and anger she was feeling. Rather than trying to express it she just shook her head and walked from the locker room.

So far she'd managed to successfully ignore him. She couldn't turn her phone off so she'd had to endure constant ringing, vibrating and buzzing. It didn't surprise her that it had escalated. She wasn't sure if she was ready to talk to him, but she knew that if she didn't answer he would just keep at it. The last thing she wanted was for him to start shouting for her; so she threw off the covers, pulled on a robe and went to the door.

He looked like hell, and she couldn't seem to rid herself of the satisfaction that came with seeing that. Still, she refused to make the first move, or speak first. Dealing with the tense silence, she simply stood and looked at him.

It wasn't too surprising when he was the first to speak. "You've got to talk to me sometime Montana."

"I can guarantee you don't want to hear anything I've got to say Danny."

He stepped forward, coming to an abrupt stop when she blocked his entrance. "I'm sorry Lindsay. I don't know how many more times I can say it."

There anger in her eyes shone like fire. "Do you honestly think that's what I want to hear? You're sorry?" She reached out and shoved him back a foot with a hard push against his chest. "You shouldn't have to say you're sorry Danny!"

"You think I don't know that? You think I don't know that I screwed up?"

"You went beyond screwing up here Danny. Do you have any idea what this feels like, knowing what you did? I understand that you were hurting, but you could have, no, you should have said no!"

When he spoke again there was an edge of desperation to his voice. "What can I say to make this better Montana? I want to fix this?"

Lindsay shook her head. "There isn't anything you can say to make this better. No amount of "I'm sorrys" or begging can make this better."

"Then what?"

"Quit talking Danny. Quit apologizing and make me believe that you're really sorry." She began to step back inside, swinging the door shut. "Man up; stop telling me you love me and you want to make things better. Prove it."


	2. Chapter 2

Note From The Author—Here's the second half of Should Have Said No. I couldn't just leave it, so I decided to write this second short chapter. Hope this satisfactorily wraps it up.

Things were even more tense between them after their heated encounter. It got to the point where Mac did everything he could to keep them from ending up on the same case, and the rest of the team couldn't help but wonder if things would ever be resolved. Still, they ended up on cases from time to time, but it was three weeks before Danny approached her to talk about anything other than work.

She was in the lab looking over some results when he walked in. She sensed him there immediately, but she wasn't about to be the one to speak first, not now. She stayed silent and still, waiting for him to say something.

"Can I talk to you Lindsay?" he asked, uncharacteristically quiet.

She turned around to face him, careful to keep her face neutral. "Did we get a hit on the print?" she asked.

"No… I mean, I don't know, but I meant about what you told me, about manning up."

"Okay, I'm listening."

His hands went immediately into his pockets, and she could tell whatever he was about to say was hard for him. Most of her didn't care how upset he was, but there was a part of her that still felt for him. "I wanted to tell you that I thought about what you said, and I get it, I really do. It wouldn't make a difference if I apologized until my face turned blue."

"No it wouldn't," she said quietly.

"I know that. I just wanted to tell you that…." He trailed off, searching for the words and when his eyes met hers again it was through a sheen of tears. "Everything started going down hill when Ruben died. It isn't an excuse, and it doesn't make what I did right, but I just couldn't deal with anything after he was killed. I felt, and I still feel, like it was my fault, and I'm not sure how to fix that. I just wanted you to know that I'm getting some help. I'm talking to someone, a professional, about everything and I'm trying to work it all out. I guess I just needed you to know that Montana, that I'm trying."

She nodded through her own tears and only watched as he walked away. It couldn't fix it all and certainly not this quickly, but it was something; it was something that he was willing to try.


End file.
